Hoque was put in touch with gas engineer "fixer" Miah, who travelled to and from Syria with aid convoys in 2012 and 2013.

Miah, who was convicted of helping Hoque get £1,500 to Syria, was cleared of a further charge over an alleged plot to create a "night team" in Syria.

He was accused of drawing up a list of the equipment needed and delegating the job of sourcing much of it to Mr Rafiq and Mohammed Hussain, who was also cleared.

Hoque, 37, of Stoke-on-Trent, Miah, 28, of east London, Mr Hussain, 30, of east London, and Mr Rafiq, 46, of Birkby, Huddersfield, denied the charges against them.

Giving evidence, Hoque admitted sending money to his nephew via Miah because he was fighting ''in defence of those who cannot defend themselves''. But he denied knowing his nephew was with an al Qaida-linked group.

Miah told jurors the Syrian people needed help and "had every right to be defended".

Following his arrest, Mr Rafiq said he had gone on a convoy with Mr Henning, of Salford, Greater Manchester, who was taken hostage and beheaded by IS killer Jihadi John in 2014.

Giving evidence, he said he had not been back to Syria since December 2013 because of threats against him by IS and other extremists over Mr Henning.

He told jurors: "I was trying to save the life of a non-believer. He was not a Muslim."

The aid worker was also wooed by MI5 and raised £200,000 for charity, jurors were told.

The court heard that MI5 had offered Mr Rafiq £30,000 to do work for the secret services and had always co-operated with authorities who searched convoys on their way out and stopped him on the way back to the UK.

Let us send you our Newsletter

Our editors will email you a roundup of their favourite stories from across AOL